Dailuaine 9 Years Old 2007 Cask #DL 11504 (Provenance)

The Glasgow bottler Douglas Laing bottled this Dailuaine, a 9 year old, distilled in 2007, from cask DL 11504, bottled at 46%, one of 347 bottles. Dailuaine is a robust Speyside distillery at Carron, making a full bodied malt mostly for blends. Most of its make goes to blending, with a Flora and Fauna sixteen year old the regular single malt.

The spirit was made in large copper stills for a rich, robust make, to build a robust, malty, sherry loving character. A refill bourbon hogshead held it, keeping the rich character to the fore. Young and extractive, the cask sheds vanillin (vanilla) and toasted sugars (light caramel) over the heavy spirit. The clean spirit shows the cask clearly, vanilla and fruit over a rich malt. The slow loss of the angel's share concentrates the rich, malty core over the years. Most Dailuaine goes quietly into blends, a robust filler kept in part as single malt.

Reduced to 46%, it is mellow. A rich, full bodied sweetness, with a soft vanilla from the oak. A baked fruit and a warm spice lift it. A full, malty finish ends on dried fruit and a warm spice. This is one of Speyside's heavier single malts.